Hero Forge® is a rich character creator with a multitude of options and features to make your character as you envision it. With so many details, there may be a few that you missed.
Left Mouse: Rotate camera
Middle Mouse: Zoom camera
Right Mouse: Pan camera
Ctrl + Z: Undo the last change you made
Ctrl + Y: Redo your recent Undo
+ and - keys: Zoom in or out
Ctrl + left mouse click: Fill -- replace a paint wherever it appears on the menu
Alt + left mouse click: Pick -- select the paint under the mouse
Alt + mouse hover over a paint in Color → Mix menu: Highlight where a paint is used
> and < keys: Toggles between the Main and Extra characters when working with multiple characters on one base.
By default, our main menu is on the left of the screen, while the selection area of the menu is on the right.
Users with wide screens may wish to group both parts of the menu together. This can be done in the Info → Options menu by checking the “Group Menus Right” box.
Content can be removed in two ways:
1. You can re-select the blue-highlighted item. An item is highlighted in blue if it is selected.
2. You can click on the blue trash can in the submenu. This blue trash can appears in submenus where an item is selected.
Some left and right item options, such as ears, shoulder clothing, and gloves, are linked together, so that the selection of an item on the right or left will equip that item to both the right and left sides.
To unlink these items or re-link them, select the chain icon at the top of the selection area.
Some menus have dice icons at the top of the selection areas. Click on this icon to get a random option.
You can search for a specific part by opening up a submenu (e.g. Gear > Hands) and then clicking on the magnifying glass search icon.
Two save options are available in the Hero menu: Save and Save As.
Save. For new designs, Save will create a new save file in your Heroes folder. For designs loaded from your Heroes folder, ‘Save’ will overwrite the design with your changes.
Save As. For designs loaded from your Heroes folder, ‘Save As’ will create a new save file in your Heroes folder. It will not save over your existing save. The ‘Save As’ option will not appear on new heroes.
If you want to get an idea of the real-life height of your character, select the Settings icon next to the Height slider in the Body → Measurements menu. This will reveal a measurement tool background that will show you how tall your mini will actually be, as well as how tall the mini would be if the character was standing straight.
Some sliders in the Body → Measurements menu have a Settings icon next to them. Clicking the height slider’s Settings icon will open up the measurement tool, while clicking the Settings icon next to the other sliders will open up sub-sliders to allow you to adjust the measurement with more granularity.
To have your character hold one item in both hands, select the two-hands icon between the left and right item of your choice in the Gear → Hands menu. Not all items can be held in both hands. Note that two-handed poses are unavailable when more than two arms are equipped.
If a weapon is selected that has the two-handed option, and either the two-handed icon is selected or the other hand is empty, the Pose → Body options will update to show two-handed options.
To mirror your character’s pose, navigate to the Pose → Body menu and click the mirror icon on the top right of the pose options.
Face Customizer is broken into two sections, both of which can be found in the menu on the left side of the screen when logged into HeroForge.com. The first section focuses on the head shape, found under the “Head” menu. The second section focuses on expressions and is found under the “Pose” menu. PLEASE NOTE: Upon visiting the “Head” menu in the character customization menu, you will automatically be prompted to update the old head to the new Face Customizer system.
Not all head options are compatible with Face Customizer. To find which heads do work, look for the faint gear icon to the top right of the head. If there is a gear, the head is compatible with Face Customizer.
Editing the Head: Presets!
The preset options are a great way to quickly customize your miniature’s face. When you select the “Head” menu, you’ll see a new menu on the right side of your screen with different zones of the face highlighted in red. Each “zone” of the face (eyes, mouth, jaw, etc) has various preset features within for you to choose from, which, when selected, will apply to your mini.
How to Edit the Presets: Big and Small Edits
Each “zone” on the face comes with the ability to make big or small edits to the preset. Big Edits change the core shape of the preset, while Small Edits change minute details. Both Big and Small Edits have the option to edit only one side of the face by deselecting “Linked Sides.”
To make Big or Small Edits, select Head from the left menu, then select the facial zone from the right menu. Select “Big Edits” or “Small Edits” from the top middle of the right-side menu, from there, you can access all the sliders associated with that specific zone.
More Ways to Edit: Face Pads
To get a more “hands-on” approach to mini customization, you can hover over your mini’s face with your cursor while in the Head menu, and light blue shapes, or “Face Pads,” will appear over different areas. Select an area you’d like to edit by holding the left mouse button down over a face pad and dragging it in different directions to manually change the shape of the selected facial feature.
Extra Details
There are some more options for fine-tuning your mini under the “Head” menu. When you have the “Head” menu open, select the “Edits” tab from the face menu on the right, which will open a menu of sliders that include “Softness,” “Age,” and “Carved.”
These sliders allow you to alter the appearance of your miniature’s face further by adding wrinkles and wear to their face with the “Age” slider or giving them a chiseled/defined look with the “Carved” slider.
Facial Hair
It is important to note that facial hair has changed with Face Customizer. When selecting “Beard” under the Head menu, you’ll notice that there are two options for facial hair on the right side of your screen. Facial hair is now broken up into two sections: the mustache and the beard are separate from each other, which allows you to mix and match styles for maximum customization!
Expressions: Where to Find Them
Once you have a face shape you’re happy with, you can move on to creating expressions for your miniatures. Do so by navigating to the “Pose” menu and selecting “Face,” which will put you in the right place to begin your miniature’s journey to expressions!
Editing Expressions: Presets!
Just like head shapes, expressions have many presets ranging from neutral, happy, concerned, and more! These presets are found in the menu that populates after selecting Pose > Face.
Within this menu, you can select the gear icon at the top right, which gives you a slider for each preset expression. Use these sliders as an easy way to blend different expressions together to give your mini their unique look.
Expressive Expressions: Editing the Presets
Just like editing the head, expressions can be fine-tuned by selecting the menus with different zones highlighted in red under the Pose > Face menu. Each zone has various sliders that will help you further define the expression.
Linked Sides
When editing the expressions, you can choose to select or deselect “Linked Sides.” Enabling Linked Sides allows the sliders to edit both sides of the face at the same time while deselecting this option will allow you to edit each side individually.
(Example: With Linked Sides enabled, you will edit the position of both eyebrows simultaneously. With Linked Sides disabled, you will be able to edit each eyebrow individually.)
Editing Eyes
Eye position is still editable within the Pose > Face menu, but it’s important to note that the direction the eyes are facing can be edited specifically through a gear menu rather than having to disable “Linked Sides.” To do so, select the icon with the eye zone highlighted in red and then select the gear next to “Look Horizontal” or “Look Vertical.” The respective gears will open up sliders that will allow the position of each eye to be specifically posed separate from the rest of the face.
The underside of the base will be colored the same as the rest of the base. If you have equipped a base label in the Base → Label menu, however, you’ll be able to choose a color for the label.
To do so, go to the Color → Theme menu, then select the Settings icon on the top right of the selection area. This will bring up color options for different theme sections, including Underside Label.
You can view the underside of your base by returning to the Base → Label menu.
When the Paints or Mix submenus are selected, three paint tools are available.
The Paint tool will paint the single area of the mini over which your mouse is hovering.
The Fill tool will paint the mouse-over area, as well as any other areas that share the same type. For example, if you’re hovering over a Cloth-type area, all Cloth-type areas will be colored.
The Pick tool will show you the existing color of the mouse-over area.
There are keyboard shortcuts for the Fill and Pick tool (see Hotkeys).
High colors appear most vividly on edges and extremities, similar to how the traditional painting technique of dry brushing applies colors to the raised areas of a surface.
Mid color selections typically make up the primary color impression of a surface, appearing mostly on the larger, flatter areas of a model.
Low colors appear most commonly in the crevices and concavities of a model, similar to how the traditional painting technique of ink washes settle into the cracks and canyons of a surface.
This slider affects how matte or glossy a surface looks. This value has a strong effect on your 3D printed color's appearance, especially relating to the sharpness of gradients between your "low," "mid," and "high" color choices.
Tip: For 3D printing light-colored metal colors like silver or steel, we recommend setting roughness somewhat higher than the minimum value. Higher roughness values will avoid extreme light and dark banding effects on your print, which some may find undesirable.
This slider affects how dim or bright a surface appears at glancing angles, simulating how light can catch fuzzy edges and produce a "halo" effect. This has little to no effect on a color's appearance in print, but adds realism to the on-screen rendering of certain cloth-like, fuzzy materials.
This slider simulates how light passes through some surfaces. The opacity value has a visible effect on a color's appearance in print, with low opacity colors appearing darker and with lower contrast. This slider primarily adds realism to the on-screen rendering of certain glass or gem-like materials.
Note that it does not affect the actual opacity or transparency of the 3D color print.
This slider simulates how light-emitting surfaces do not have pronounced shadows in their cracks and crevices. The glow slider has a minor effect on large surfaces of 3D color prints, and negligible effect on smaller surfaces. This slider adds realism to the on-screen rendering of light-emitting objects. Note that the Glow slider is visible only on Max graphics settings.
The Transparent Plastic checkmark makes the specified color transparent. Unlike the Opacity slider, this transparency will show up in print, but not in 3D Tabletop Download minis.
The effect is subtle, like frosted glass, and becomes more perceptible when held up to light. Transparent plastic works best when applied to both sides of large areas. When applied to only one side of an object (not recommended), you will typically be able to see through into the internal white core of the miniature.
Not seeing the Transparent Plastic checkbox? Our transparency option requires certain graphics engine features that may not be supported by your device. At this time, we rely on the ability to render this option as a prerequisite for applying and printing transparent features.
The metal checkmark makes a surface look metallic. It is a check mark because most surfaces in the real world are either metal or not metal, but advanced options allow for more granular control for surfaces that are a blend, like mud covered steel. The metal value has a moderate effect on the appearance of 3D color prints, producing more vivid, contrasting gradients.
The skin checkmark makes a surface appear more skin-like by adding a flush of warmer tones to a surface’s shadows. The skin checkmark has little to no visible effect on miniature-scale 3D print, but adds realism to the on-screen rendering of skin-like surfaces.
Hero Forge® allows for the selection of two (default), four, or six arms. To select more than two arms, navigate to the Body → Torso menu. On the bottom of the selection area, there are icons for four and six arms. Select one of them to equip the respective number of arms.
To select arm options, such as prosthetics, amputations, and alternate styles, navigate to the Body → Torso menu. On the left of the selection area, there will be icons highlighting the equipped arms. Select one of them to choose prosthetics and amputations for those arms.
In the Gear → Hands menu, hand items are equippable. If your mini design has more than 2 arms, you can choose which arm set to equip with hand items by selecting the icons highlighting each hand set to the left of the selection area.
To get two items on your base, first, select the first item in the Base → Items menu. Once you’ve selected an item, a Base → Items B menu will appear. You can then select your second item from this new menu.
To fill in your base so that it’s completely solid instead of hollow, first navigate to the Base → Label menu, and then select the solid base icon.
To add custom text to the bottom of your base, first navigate to the Base → Label menu, and then select the Your Text icon. A text box will appear below the label options. Clicking on the text box will trigger a popup where you can enter your text. You may add up to three lines of text. Click “Accept” to verify your change and be taken back to the character creator.
The underside of the base will be colored the same as the rest of the base. If you have equipped a base label in the Base → Label menu, however, you’ll be able to choose a color for the label.
To do so, go to the Color → Theme menu, then select the Settings icon on the top right of the selection area. This will bring up color options for different theme sections, including Underside Label.
You can view the underside of your base by returning to the Base → Label menu.
To add muzzle flash, first equip the gun you want in the Gear → Hands menu. Once a gun is equipped, a Muzzle Flash R and/or Muzzle Flash L tab will appear above the search bar of the selection area. Select this tab to choose from our muzzle flash selections.
When you first equip a side item quiver, you’ll see that it’s empty. However, once a quiver is selected, you’ll see an Arrows R and/or Arrows L tab at the top of the item selection area. When you click on this tab, you’ll be able to select from a variety of arrows to add to your quiver.
Back item quivers are full of arrows by default. These arrows can be changed or removed with the Arrows R and/or Arrows L tab at the top of the item selection area. When you click on this tab, you’ll be able to select from a variety of arrows to add to your quiver.
Once an item that is compatible with spell effects is selected, you’ll see a Spell FX R and/or Spell FX L tab at the top of the item selection area. When you click on this tab, you’ll be able to select from a variety of spell effects to add to your item. Note that spell effects are not compatible with all item types.
It is possible to have a mount with no rider. First, select the mount you’d like in the Mount menu. Then, check the “Mount Only” checkbox at the bottom of the mount selection area.
Click on the Stage menu. Within the Stage menu, click on Extra, and then Species. Once the species menu is open, you can add whatever species you want the second character to be to the base.
To add a second character from your existing saves, click the Import button instead of Species. Your saves will open, and you’ll select the character you want to import.
After adding the extra character, a new menu will appear above the mini. Click the dropdown icon to toggle between the Main and Extra characters. The character added to the base first will be considered the Main character.
The selected character will have a gold indicator hovering above it and its designation (Main or Extra) will appear on the menu above the mini. Whichever character is selected will receive any gear, pose, and color changes.
> and < can be used to toggle between the Main and Extra characters instead of the hovering menu.
The new Mounts and Familiars system opens up a whole new world of options and creativity for mini-builders. There are a few important items to consider before diving in:
Mounts can now also be found in the species menu. You can filter for them by clicking on the magnifying glass and selecting the horseshoe icon labeled “Ride.”
Familiars can now also be found in the species menu. You can filter for them by clicking on the magnifying glass and selecting the bird icon labeled “Familiar.”
You can add a mount to a character by going to the Stage menu and selecting the horseshoe icon labeled “Ride.”
Go to the Stage menu and select the Rider option.
Choose to:
Handheld:
On the Base:
Mounts:
Characters/Riders:
Familiars:
Handheld:
Base: (Note not all familiars have customization options at this time.)
You can move the familiar's location on the base by using its posing options. And selecting the “Advanced Posing” options.
Have a question this guide didn’t answer? Contact us here!